Category Archives: Networking

Nearly three years ago, I attended Superstars Writing Seminar in Colorado Springs. I had been writing for about a year and was excited to learn how to become a published author.

It soon became apparent that I was ahead of my time in attending. Not that it didn’t totally propel my development as a writer, but one fact kept slapping me in the face—I had never finished a book. I had started several, they had great ideas, great premises; yet I hadn’t finished any of them. I would write a few chapters, get stuck, and abandon the piece indefinitely.

Several in the group claimed to have written terrible novels of which they were too ashamed to let see the light of day. But they had finished them all the same. I envied them.

I left Superstars with the resolve that I needed to finish something, anything, regardless of skill or quality.

Well, three years later, I’ve thrown out hundreds of thousands of words. I almost finished a novel about a year ago and almost completed it, solely out of principle, to be able to claim that I had finished a novel. But after taking a writing seminar from David Farland, I knew it was garbage. I abandoned the 90% finished work for a new project.

This year I did a lot of things and learned a lot of things that have helped my writing. Each of these has a synergistic effect on my writing. First, I took another class from David Farland (this time online). I set monthly goals. Some of these goals required me to submit my short stories for publication. I hired an editor to perfect a couple short stories, and learned from this experience a great deal about self-editing. The culmination of these led to the completion of a novel. I completed a novel.

In February, I’m returning to Superstars, this time having completed a novel. Also, from my goals and endeavors, I am now a published writer. I had no less than three of my short pieces published (one in a paying market). I received my first rejection letter from Writers of the Future. And this year was my first to participate in NaNoWriMo. I wrote about 42,000 words (8k shy of winning).

These are exciting accomplishments, but the grandest of all, the one that will make me a successful writer one day, is the accomplishment of not giving up. I’m still writing.

I’m planning on taking another David Farland class or two, attending Superstars, winning NaNoWriMo, and writing throughout the year, finishing at least one other novel. I’ll submit each quarter to Writers of the Future. And I’m looking for an agent for my finished novel (despite being my first, it’s actually pretty good).

I live in Arizona with my family, wife and five kids and a little dog. I write fiction, thrillers and soft sci-fi with a little short horror on the side. I’ve got an MBA and work in finance for a biotechnology firm.

I volunteer with the Boy Scouts, play and write music, and enjoy everything outdoors. I’m also a novice photographer.

You can visit my author website at www.jacekillan.com, and you can read some of my works by visiting my Wattpad page.

Promotion At The Drop Of A Hat

December 21, 2015

Kim May

Interacting With Fans Kim May Publishing No Comments

It was really hard to decide on what to focus on for this post. I’ve learned a lot this year. I’ve learned that gender neutral characters are really hard to write, pain management is a good thing, tie-in stories take twice as long to write, and anthology invites come when you least expect it. While all of these were great things to discover, I think the most important truth I’ve learned is to always have a pitch or three ready.

You see, this year my first two short stories were published. Yay me! I’ve been working toward this goal for years. However I thought that after I passed this particular career milestone that the rest of my career would be like the instructions on a shampoo bottle — lather, rinse, repeat. On the writing side of things, yes, it was. Except instead of lather, rinse, repeat it’s write, promote, release. But when I’m not holed up in my writing lair it’s very different.

Perhaps it’s because I work at a bookstore and my readers know where to find me. I’m not sure. Anyway, since the release of those stories every time my readers see me they ask “when is your next story coming out?” I never anticipated to have an eager following this early in my career so hearing that question caught me unprepared. Yes, I knew when my next story’s release date. What I wasn’t prepared to do was give a promotional pitch. It’s a short story. Writers don’t have to write pitches to sell short stories to editors. We just send in the story. But pitches do come in handy when talking to eager fans.

I think another reason it caught me off guard is that I didn’t expect the dividing line between my professional life and my personal life to blur. For a long time I only had writerly interactions when I was at conventions, workshops, book signings, and the like. When I was at work or church or the grocery store I was just Kim. That’s not the case anymore. People know me as Kim May, the local author and bumping into me is — to them — an awesome highlight of their day. Sure, there are times when I’m still an anonymous local but the second a reader recognizes me I have to be ready to snap into “author mode”. I have to be ready to answer questions about what they read and most importantly promote my next story.

Now that I have an eager audience I have to keep them engaged. If I don’t have an update for them they might lose interest and I can’t afford to let that happen. Yes, I could just refer them to my blog for updates but that comes across as lazy. Plus they’ll probably forget by the time they’re back on the internet. Telling them in the moment gives them the information; and even if they forget the release date they’ll still remember that I have something new coming out. It also preserves an air of professionalism. You can never have too much of that.

Check out Kim May’s bio to find out more.

I don’t want to know that sometimes it’s who I know.

December 11, 2015

mary

Mary Pletsch Networking The Writing Life 1 Comment

I’m an introvert. Growing up, I liked to believe that I could accomplish my goals via my own efforts, and I didn’t need anyone else’s help (for fear it would only come with strings attached). So when I first started hearing about “networking,” I cringed. I was sure that professional writers were tired of being pestered by newbies who wanted favors, and I feared that my fellow authors were “competition,” the people I would have to beat if I wanted to be published.

My experiences with networking haven’t been like that at all.

Firstly, it takes more than one writer to fill an anthology. And more than one writer to contribute to a magazine. And more than one writer to fill a publishing company’s needs. Writing is not a race that will only be won by the first person past the finish line. In fact, when you’re a writer and you need a hand, the people you’ll turn to – the people who can offer you contacts and introductions and support and advice – are your fellow writers.

I’m here writing on this blog because I went to Superstars Writing Seminars in 2010. I went to Superstars because another friend of mine, a published author, recommended it to me. I’ve published short stories in “Game of Horns: A Red Unicorn Anthology” and “One Horn to Rule Them All: A Purple Unicorn Anthology,” and I still can’t believe I’m seeing my name on the list of contributors along with Peter S. Beagle, author of “The Last Unicorn,” a movie I’ve loved since childhood.

None of that would’ve happened if I hadn’t known the right people. And I would never have known them if I hadn’t talked to my fellow writers.

“Knowing the right people” can be frustrating. It takes more to make friends and contacts than simply the desire to have them. You need to go out–preferably not with the mindset of “catching a contact who can do things for me.”

Put yourself out there with the intent of getting to know some people with the same interests as you. You might not click with everyone, and that’s okay. Everyone has some people who are close friends, some people who are casual acquaintances, some people they have little in common with — and that’s okay. Keep going. Keep meeting new people. Keep reaching out.

Reaching out might not always involve face to face socializing. The person who recommended Superstars to me was someone I’d first started chatting with on an online message board. Face-to-face is often easier, but if health, money, or other factors make it difficult, online contacts can get you started.

Look for writers’ groups in your area. If there aren’t any that meet your needs, consider starting one. Go to conventions, if you can afford to do so–and affording gets a lot easier when you have friends who will let you stay and/or travel with them (thanks Marie and Kerri!)

If you’ve got a friend who’s a big-name author, remember first and foremost this person is your friend. Not your “awesome inside source,” not a name-drop to impress people, not Santa Claus (write them a wish list and wait for them to fulfill it). Treat your contacts as people first.

I have an exciting project that will be the focus of my writing in 2016. I’m not yet free to talk about it (contractual obligations) but once again, it’s a project that has come to me because of who I know. Being able to write the kind of stories I tell is important too–don’t get me wrong! Two of my previous short stories in particular were very helpful in proving that I’d be up to this project. But in the end, it was the recommendation of a fellow writer that first brought me to the attention of the project lead.

Stay tuned – I’ve got big news coming in 2016 ! Have a great holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Getting Ahead of Deadlines

December 2, 2015

Evan Braun

Balancing Acts Business Evan Braun Interacting With Professionals Life Philosophies Motivation Professional Behavior Self-Awareness The Writing Life The Writing Process 1 Comment

I have always been a dyed-in-the-wool procrastinator, telling myself that I work best under pressure and that turning around projects at the last minute provides me with valuable motivation. This might all be true. Or it might just be something I tell myself to justify continuing to be lazy. There’s really no way to know. (Or is there? Read on.)

I’ve had to change my ways. It turns out that when you become inundated with a certain gross tonnage of deadlines all at once, you can’t actually wait until the last minute anymore. Especially when a dozen (or two dozen, or three dozen) important deadlines all congregate on the same day. When that happens, some advance planning is not just a balm to one’s state of mind; it is non-negotiable. At least it is to me—nowadays.

For the most part, I have a job that allows deadlines to be a little bit flexible. Freelance editing allows for the occasional grace period. And writing novels on spec? Well, all those deadlines exist in my own head and pretty much nowhere else. It’s possible, as a result, that I have developed some bad habits.

But in August 2015, that all changed. Abruptly. In addition to editing and writing at my previous pace, I added a third job—newspaper editor. It will surprise no one to reveal that in the newspaper business, deadlines are extremely inflexible. There aren’t any grace periods. The print deadline is the print deadline. Everything needs to be written, revised, fact-checked, and proofread on time or the whole enterprise falls apart.

This was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me, because frankly I could stand to have greater structure imposed on my work life.

The result is that I’ve been forced to get out ahead of deadlines. If twenty articles are all due on Thursday, some of them have to be finalized on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. There’s just no way around it.

Likewise, I’ve been forced to apply this new approach to deadlines to my other jobs. The result is that I now find myself finishing projects several days before I absolutely have to—and for a lifetime procrastinator, that is a strange feeling.

Having learned this lesson, I can confidently revisit the question posed in the first paragraph of this post and inflict a bit of newfound logic on the situation. While it may be true that working at the last minute results in strong motivation to get things done, it also ensures that only the bare minimum ever gets done. By completing projects ahead of schedule, by necessity, my productivity has significantly improved in all areas of my life.

Evan Braun is an author and editor who has been writing books for more than ten years. He is the author of The Watchers Chronicle, whose third volume, The Law of Radiance, was released earlier this year. In addition to specializing in both hard and soft science fiction, he is the managing editor of The Niverville Citizen. He lives in Niverville, Manitoba.